As a new year approaches, local military recruitment officials are discussing the benefits of enlisting in the Armed Forces and how recruitment has been in Northeast Ohio.
Petty Officer Robert Tucker of the U.S. Navy said recruitment has grown in Lorain County with 56 people joining last year, up from 36 recruits in 2011.
“We are getting a lot of people from all over the county looking to serve and be a part of something much bigger than themselves,” Tucker said. “It’s wonderful seeing so many young people rise up for the greater good of our nation locally.”
The U.S. military services recruit on two fronts, active duty service and reserve service. National recruitment numbers released Nov. 19 by the U.S. Department of Defense indicate all four active services met or exceeded accession goals for fiscal 2013. Full numbers for each service are listed in the side bar accompanying this article.
Strong retention numbers in active duty servicemen and women were seen in the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps during the final month of Fiscal Year 2013, according to a defense department press release. The Navy showed strong gains in retention for mid-career and career categories.
In the reserve recruiting sector, four of six services met or exceeded fiscal-year-to-date 2013 accession goals, with the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard falling short of their goals by 3,689 and 351, respectively. All of the reserve components met attrition goals.
The numbers are strong and stable despite a draw down of forces across the board, particularly noticeable in the Army, which is in the process of ending its mission in Afghanistan by December 2014.
Nationally, the collective number of active sailors enlisted in the U.S. Navy has declined slightly with 318,406 recruited this year, down from 324,209 serving in 2012.
Tucker believes one of the main reasons for the increase in recruitment locally is because more people in Lorain County are looking to take advantage of the Navy’s educational benefits.
“Our primary target is young men and women between 17 and 22 years of age,” he said. “We find this to be the age that most men and women are thinking about their futures and start looking at ways to earn a comfortable living. With many people being laid off throughout the county, there’s no doubt in my mind that a person may choose to enlist simply because the navy will pay for their college education expenses and offer them secure job placement.”
When joining the Navy, Tucker said new recruits have their pick at a variety of jobs ranging anywhere from retail to nuclear engineering.
“Recruitment is just one part of what we do. What a person does after recruitment is a whole different story,” Tucker said. “The kinds of jobs we offer have the ability to strengthen and discipline, teach a person new skills, and take them all over the world. It’s very rewarding.”
As a local recruiter for the U.S. Air Force recruitment office in Elyria, 4694 Midway Mall Blvd., Sgt. Justin Betts said enrollment has been down somewhat because of the holiday season.
“The holiday season is never prime for enlistment because a lot of people aren’t looking to leave home around this time,” Betts said. “There are different times of the year where our recruitment goes up, but as we become smaller in size, we also become more selective about who we recruit. It’s not necessarily about finding people; it’s more about finding the right people for us.”
Although aviation may be the primary trade associated with the Air Force, Betts said, much like the Navy, they offer many other job opportunities.
“Only 4 percent of the Air Force are actually pilots,” he said. “There’s so many other jobs available with our specific branch of government, especially in the field of technology. We cater our jobs to what an individual is interested in and really focus on quality of life.”
Besides the educational advantage that comes with joining the Air Force, Betts said new recruits benefit through joining by seeing the world and gaining a sense of satisfaction in serving their country.
“There’s definitely a sense of pride that comes along with a person serving their country,” he said. “The Air Force opens up a person’s eyes to the world around them and from all the places I’ve been to in the world, I can assure you we are among the most fortunate.
“Because of this, we to teach our new recruits the importance of giving back because we can’t forget how truly fortunate we are to have all the freedom and opportunities we do today.”
Working from the Armed Forces Recruitment Center, 7535 Mentor Ave. in Mentor in Lake County, Marine Corps Recruiter Sergeant Matthew Charvat said most of the recruits the office sees come from a mix of places, including high school visits, walk-ins and, more often than one would expect, chance encounters on the street.
“There’s a certain type of branch out there for each individual. You just have to figure out what it is,” he said. “Some people are drawn to one (service) by family or maybe it’s just something they’ve seen growing up, maybe in commercials or just an image of what a Marine is like or something.”
Charvat and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Laser, the center commander for the Army recruiting office in Mentor, both recruit from Lake, Ashtabula and Geauga counties, said though most of their recruits fall into the 17-24 age range, they’ve noticed some older individuals taking an interest, even those with college degrees.
Specifically for the Army, Laser said he’s had a lot of interest from people looking to get into careers in the medical or technology fields.
“It’s a pretty good mix around here. I’ve been doing recruiting for eight years in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Ohio. Here especially it’s probably the widest mix of where individuals are generating interest,” Laser said. “Whether it is at high schools, or people walking in the door, at college, or even sometimes through social media.”

About the Author

Adriana is the courts and county reporter for Lorain County. She has a B.A. in Journalism and Promotional Communication from Cleveland State University. Reach the author at acuevas@morningjournal.com
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